From the desk of Teresa Jordan, Executive Director – I just finished a report and had to double check the date. December? Already? Now, I know what you’re thinking … the Christmas decorations all over the place, including my own house, should have been a clue but, really, how did this year pass by so fast?
I read once, probably in my women’s studies classes, that holidays are part of the oppression of women in that they box you in and keep you driven to decorate and host parties at regular intervals, rather than making lofty plans and aspirations.
There may be some truth to the grind of holidays in that way for all of us, but for me they are key markers in time. Back to school and Christmas are the biggies for me. I suddenly realize that my kids are a year older, my husband is a year older, everyone is aging except for me – how strange?
For me, these are two times that I take stock – what am I doing, what am I dreaming, where do I want to go and how should I adjust the sails? I make lists, I think, I marvel at how another year has passed and then I get started chipping away at where I want to be next. These goals are big and small … guide great quality tools at work, learn to play the trumpet, finally clean my closet … all kinds of goals. This goal-setting is an exercise not of feeling overwhelmed of giving me a little reset and a time to reflect on what is important for right now.
December … the season of food and parties and, in those long dark evenings, a little check-in on direction and the settings of the sails.
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